Cat's Got Your Tongue
by Attack of the Plot Bunny
Summary: Post Hell Night, from CP Coulter's Dalton. A very unwilling Julian is dragged to prom, and finally has to face Logan.


_Author's Note: _

_At present, Episode 26 of CP Coulter's **Dalton**, 'Hell Night', is the latest episode in the season. I've never really written fan fiction before, and I am not sure if I will again, but things have come to a point where I feel this is potentially the only way to move forward. As any readers of 'Hell Night' will understand, throughout the week in which the three parts of the episode were published, I have been moping around my house, mainly in pajamas, feeling lost and confused, and unable to do anything productive. Apart from using Tumblr, if you count that as productive. Anyway, I have other writing that I need to do, but I need to get all this off my chest to clear my head a bit first. _

_One of the only things we know from CP is that there will be a prom in a future episode, and the theme is Disney. Regardless of where her story goes, I wanted to create a piece here where Julian and Logan can have the happy ending they deserve. _

**Cat's got your tongue**

"Julian? Julian? Can you open your eyes for us Julian?"

The voices finally pierced Julian's consciousness, and his eyes flew open. Surrounding him were unfamiliar faces, all peering at him anxiously. "What?" he groaned, as the colours in the room re-adjusted themselves from the hazy blur, and he was able to make out the men and women in hospital uniforms clustered around the bed. The bed, which he appeared to be laying on. Why was he in a hospital bed? Frantically, he cast his mind back to the last memories he had, which was of… Parent's Night! That was it! He had been trying to conceal a ridiculously high Logan from his father, and then – _Oh. OH. _

He sat bolt upright, much to the shock of the staff. "Adam! It was Adam! Where is he?". The nearest doctor crouched down to examine the top of Julian's head, which he realised was wrapped in a large white cast. "No need to panic, Mr. Larson. Adam Clavell won't be coming near you again. He was committed to a psych ward – different hospital, mind – three weeks ago, on the day of your accident." As Julian tried to process this information, his brain suddenly clicked. "Three… three weeks ago?" he breathed quietly.

"Ah, yes. My apologies, Mr. Larson, I shouldn't have let that slip so quickly. But yes, three weeks. Longest stay in hospital out of anyone at your accident site, apart from – well, we'll come to that soon enough. There's a lot that we need to talk you through."

Later that day, it didn't take long after Julian started aimlessly zapping the TV between channels for the door to slam open and a figure to come leaping through with uncharacteristic energy. "Clark?" Julian laughed, as the tall young man enveloped him in a hug.

"Julian! Man is it good to see you awake!" Clark sat on the bed, dumping his bag carelessly on the floor beside him.

"Clark, why are you not back filming in LA?" Julian sighed, pushing his hair back into place from where Clark had over-excitedly ruffled it. At this question, Clark raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Are you kidding me? I've seen a building go up in flames with my step-brother and cast mate inside! The SD team wrote me out for a few episodes until I'm willing to come back. Same with you, by the way."

Without warning, he prodded Julian in the side.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry. I was checking if you were ok. It appears that you're fine. Come on, let's go." Clark motioned to the bedside table. "Your clothes are in there."

"What? Where exactly are we supposed to be going?"

"Didn't I say? It's the Dalton Prom tonight. It's dress-up, but I guessed that you wouldn't have done that anyway, which is good seeing as it starts..." He checked his large watch, "20 minutes ago. No matter, you can get there before the end. Fashionably late, and all"

Julian stared, gobsmacked. Clark glanced up.

"What?"

"You dropped your crazy popstar lifestyle… so you could make sure I go to Prom"

"I told you I wasn't going back to set regardless. But yes, as it happens, I thought you should go. Not all of us had the luxury of enjoying those high school occasions, and especially as now you're awake…"

"No."

'Julian."

The way Clark stared out Julian made it distinctly clear that both boys knew what Julian's real issue was. Clearly what had been said in the Art Hall had not stayed there. _Oh god, _an unwelcome thought flickered through Julian's mind. _What if Logan... _The idea of Logan casually dropping Julian's bombshell to the other boys made his blood run cold. He looked away, biting his lip.

"Don't make me do this, Clark." The dark blonde boy only watched him intently. Julian put his head in his hands. "It's not fair to either of us" he said softly through his fingers. At this point, Clark sat back, looking at him incredulously.

"I beg to differ on that. After spending 15 consecutive days camped out in your room, I don't think it's particularly _fair _to Logan if you spend the rest of your life avoiding him, which you will end up doing if you don't sort this out right now."

Julian slowly unglued his fingers from his face. "What… what did you say?"

Clark snorted. "Damn, Julian, for the only kid I know who plans to finish school, you're awfully dense. Come on! Places to be, proms to crash! Here you go." He flung him a fresh change of clothes from the cabinet. "I only managed to distract the doctors briefly; they'll be back any second. Let's get out of this dump" As if in some surreal dream, or perhaps nightmare, Julian found himself pulling on the white t-shirt and dark jeans, and following Clark out of the door.

As the black cab pulled up to the all-too-familiar Dalton gates, Julian couldn't help but smirk at the sheer amount of balloons and coloured paper adorning every visible surface, which could only have been the work of the twins. As if summoned by Julian's very thought, two blonde heads popped up outside the car window, and positively beamed. Feeling Clark all but shove him from behind, Julian climbed out of the cab. "You'll be fine tonight" Clark commented as he too climbed out, brushing the creases out of his shirt. "I'm going to have a look around. Catch you later". Before Julian could protest, Clark disappeared into a mass of stunned Dobry students, who paused, then all made to follow him, leaving their dates irritated and abandoned.

"Cheshire!" the twins chorused, just as Derek, now one of the neglected dates, spotted him and sprinted over, calling "Jules!". Before Derek arrived, however, both twins, unsurprisingly dressed as the original Tweedles, already seemed engaged in a conversation that Julian could barely decipher.

"Costume?" asked one.

"Disney.." reflected the other. Both turned to stare at Julian.

"Head cast" one noted. Another pause, then –

"What else?" They chorused once more and, seemingly satisfied, both drew out colour markers from their pockets and began scribbling away on the cast on Julian's forehead. Deciding that batting them away wasn't his main priority right now, the boy allowed them to continue as he turned to Derek, who had just arrived, and appeared to be dressed as a monkey. "Don't ask", the varsity captain panted, which was closely followed by "My god, Jules, you could have thought to tell us you were conscious!"

"Sorry, D. It only happened this morning, and then Clark-" Julian waved his hand dismissively. "Long story short, I didn't intend to come here, and now Clark's disappeared off to be fawned over by fan girls I plan to take the first ride out." Julian went to continue, but Derek's eyes had rested on a spot behind him, and the sudden plunging feeling in his heart told him all he needed to know. Slowly, he turned around, and locked his gaze once more into those brilliant green eyes.

"Hi." Logan murmured, never breaking Julian's gaze for an instant. For the first time in his life, Julian's entire body froze. _So this must be what stage fright feels like… _a small internal voice noted, before Julian snapped himself out of it and straightened up. "Hi, Logan. I'm glad that you're ok." Julian could've sworn that he saw a look of amusement flash over Logan's features, but brushed it off, becoming aware that Derek was slowly backing away into the background, pulling the Tweedles with him. _That's right, leave me here on my own why don't you, you sly bastard _Julian thought, before Logan said those three words that Julian had been expecting, but still wishing wouldn't be spoken. "Can we talk?" The brunette shrugged nonchalantly, although his heart was beating like it was going to burst out of his chest at any second. There was no point trying to escape this now, he reasoned, so when Logan gestured at the large bay window outside Warbler's Hall, Julian followed him without complaint.

Both boys sat on the window ledge, looking out over the now deserted lawn, as all the revellers had gone inside to enjoy the music. There was a pause, not too comfortable, but not uncomfortable either, then Logan turned to Julian and smiled, although the emotion in his eyes read something different. "I didn't expect you to be dressing up"

"I didn't?" Julian was slightly taken aback by the nature of the comment, but then realised that the Tweedle attack earlier couldn't have come without consequences. Cursing under his breath, he turned round to the window, and could just make out pink and purple stripes with cat ears across his cast. He sighed, and turned back to Logan. "I can't say I'm surprised that you didn't join in the festivities, Lo"

"By the look of everyone, I'm relieved I didn't. You look like a prick."

"Takes one to know one"

They looked at each other and laughed, for one beautiful moment forgetting the elephant still lurking in the room. It was at this time that Derek came out onto the grass, desperately needing a break from the Lobster Quadrille, which the twins had demanded to play on repeat. Unnoticed from the doorway, he saw the two instantly recognisable figures alone on the window sill, and watched as they laughed together, looking genuinely happier than he had seen either in a long time. Logan said something else, and Julian grinned, looking down. The image reminded Derek of the old Jules and Lo, back in freshman year, back before anything got complicated. He smiled, and headed back inside. Maybe, just maybe, things could work out this time.

Logan looked at Jules, still looking at the floor, still smiling, and realised that his mind had been wiped blank of everything that he had wanted to say. He watched his friend as he looked out across the garden, and his eyes were drawn to the dark red wound that ran over his neck and down below the neck of his T-shirt. He cursed himself, realising that Julian was probably in a lot of pain right now, and angry that it hadn't occurred to him earlier.

"I'm a shit friend, Jules" the words fell out of his mouth before he had even thought them. Julian glanced up, his large brown eyes now nervous. "Don't do this, Logan" he commented, his voice low. After delaying for so long, it was obvious to both where this conversation was going. "No, I am." Logan said forcefully, his fists clenching. Julian's chest constricted as he saw the agonised expression on Logan's face. "It's ok-" Julian began, but was swiftly interrupted.

"No, don't say that! I think that's part of the problem – you shouldn't think it's ok. You should be smacking me round the head, telling me it's NOT ok. I'm supposed to be your best friend, Jules, and I completely failed you!" Logan was ranting now, and Julian recognised that it was best to let him continue. "I've spent three years with my head up my arse, and it takes a stalker more psychotic than I am, an exploding building and you being in a coma for three weeks for me to even realise the full extent of your problems. And then you just have to go and try to make me feel better about it. I don't…. I don't understand why you feel the way you do about me, Jules. I have never been there for you – don't argue with me – and I mean, hell, I have to take pills to stop becoming a freaking monster. I don't even know what I'm doing half the time, and you just put on that façade and deal with it. I just…" Logan came to a halt, and Julian realised with horror that those beautiful green eyes were astonishingly bright, the way they only were when Logan was on the verge of tears.

"I think you're perfect" Julian said quietly, his voice cracking. He closed his eyes, knowing that Logan would never accept the way he felt, nor reciprocate it, when a soft touch pressed against his lips. Startled, he opened his eyes, and saw the familiar head of blonde hair brush up against his own. Quickly, he closed his eyes again, not quite understanding the moment but savouring it as much as he could, committing every feeling in his body to memory. Logan pulled away, shocked at his own bravado. He went to say something, but the words got caught in his throat. Instead, he was left sitting there, cheeks flushing pink, eyes as wide as boulders. Julian stared at him, and then said disbelievingly "Are you… nervous?" Logan went to retaliate, but found himself lost for words. Eventually, he settled for "Yes." Julian ran his hand through his own hair, trying to make sense of the situation. Logan remained transfixed on him. After a long, confused silence, Logan commented "You know how I'm a shitty friend?" Julian nodded, unsure of where this was going. "And you know how I spent every night in your hospital room thinking about how unreasonably beautiful you are?" This time it was Julian's eyes which widened, and he shook his head slowly. "It doesn't matter, the point I'm trying to make somewhere here is that… that… if I can't be your friend, then maybe… I don't know… if you'd like… then maybe… I could be something else?" Despite still being in total shock, Julian knew Logan well enough to understand exactly what he meant, in spite of the convoluted delivery. His grin spread wider and wider across his face, and he all but leaped towards the amazing, striking, talented, wonderful idiot sitting next to him, and kissed him, both of them laughing at the whole strangeness at the situation, and neither hoping that it was just a crazy delusion. From somewhere buried underneath Julian's frame, a dejected yet amused voice sounded out "I can't believe that we're doing this at Prom. I thought we were better than this"

"Shut up, squid"

"As long as you don't go disappearing on me again, Cheshire Cat" Logan smiled, reaching out to stroke Julian's cast, complete with the drawn on ears. His hand paused, centimetres from Julian's head. "Wait a second, why aren't you at hospital?"

"…Doesn't matter. Urgent medical care will just have to wait a little longer."


End file.
